South Asia Terrorism Portal

AFGHANISTAN

Kabul: Soaring Violence
S. Binodkumar Singh
Research Associate, Institute for Conflict Management

On June 3, 2021, four civilians were killed and another four were injured in the Chahar Qala area of Kabul city when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast targeted a car.

On June 3, 2021, four civilians were killed and five others were injured after a blast hit a passenger car in Kot-e-Sangi area of Kabul city.

On June 3, 2021, two civilians, including a female journalist associated with Ariana News, Mina Khairi and her mother, were killed in an IED explosion in the Pul-e-Sukhta area of Kabul city.

No group has claimed responsibility for these explosions.

On June 1, 2021, at least 10 civilians were killed and 12 were wounded when explosions targeted two vehicles in the Sar-e-Karez area of Kabul city. The attack took place in a Hazara neighborhood where local workers were heading home. Islamic State claimed the back-to-back attacks on two minibuses.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Capital Region Kabul, which comprises of 15 Districts, has recorded at least 259 fatalities, including 206 civilians, 41 Security Force (SF) personnel, one terrorist and 11 ‘Not Specified’ persons in the current year, so far (data till June 13, 2021). During the corresponding period of 2020, Capital Region Kabul had recorded at least 128 fatalities, including 99 civilians, 10 SF personnel and 19 terrorists. Through 2020, fatalities totaled 291, including 214 civilians, 41 SF personnel, 32 terrorists and four in the ‘Not Specified’ category.

The Kabul District alone accounted for at least 206 fatalities, including 182 civilians, 17 SF personnel and seven ‘Not Specified’, in the current year (data till June 13, 2021). During the corresponding period of 2020, Kabul District recorded at least 213 fatalities, including 95 civilians, five SF personnel and 13 terrorists. Through 2020, the District recorded 241 fatalities, including 202 civilians, 20 SF personnel, 15 terrorists and four ‘Not specified’.

Some of the other prominent incidents recorded in Capital Region Kabul in 2021 include:

May 14: 12 worshipers, including the imam of the mosque, Mufti Numan, were killed and another 15 persons were injured in an explosion at the Sharif Haji Bakhshi Mosque in the Qala-e-Muradbek area of Shakar Dara District in Kabul Province.

May 8: 100 people were killed when three powerful bombs detonated outside the Sayed Ul-Shuhada High School in Kabul city, as students, many of them teenage girls, were leaving class. Another 160 persons were injured in the incident.

March 21: Five persons were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in hit a roadside bomb in the Chahar Asiab District of Kabul Province.

February 10: Five members of the Afghan Directorate of Protection Service were killed when they were escorting a United Nations (UN) envoy on the Kabul-Jalalabad highway in the Surobi District of Kabul Province.

In addition to the major attacks, a large number of targeted attacks against prominent persons have been reported from Capital Region Kabul. Some of the prominent persons killed in the region in the current year include:

April 24: Unidentified gunmen killed, Ahmad Fawad Amiri, a government employee at the Presidential Palace, in the Khawja Musafir area of Paghman District in Kabul Province.

April 23: A Government employee, Baryalai Tokhi, was killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen in the Rishkhor area of Kabul city.

April 7: Unidentified gunmen killed Mohammad Ismail Sahak, head of the administrative office of the National Statistics and Information Authority, in the Qala Wazir area of Paghman District in Kabul Province.

March 15: Three women including an employee of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Information Technology, an employee of the Ministry of Education and an employee of the Ministry of Information and Culture, were killed in an explosion that targeted their bus in the Dahane-Bagh area in Kabul city.

February 18: Mubashir Muslimyar, a lecturer at Kabul University, was killed in an improvised explosive device blast in Kabul city.

February 2: Two people, including Mohammad Atif, the head of the non-governmental charity Jamiat-i-Islah, were killed in an explosion in Kabul city.

January 17: Unidentified gunmen opened fire, killing two female judges of the Supreme Court in Kabul city.

In early 2020, a creeping sense of insecurity spread through Kabul as magnetic bombs and execution-style assassinations claimed the lives of government, armed forces and state employees. Subsequently, the terrorists started targeting religious figures and Afghan intellectuals, particularly journalists and civil society activists.

On December 29, 2020, Interior Affairs Minister Massoud Andarabi stated that the Taliban, which had “major plans to overrun more areas in the provinces including Helmand” in October-November 2020, after having been prevented by the Security Forces in their designs, was “focusing on targeted killings in Kabul.” A group was created by the Taliban under the name Obaida to carry out targeted attacks.According to a UN report released on March 12, 2021,

On February 22, 2021, Afghanistan's First Vice President Amrullah Saleh asserted that the Taliban was using new tactics in planting landmines on Kabul's roads and the Taliban had received special training from Pakistan to plant bombs.

Da'esh [IS-KP] had sleeper cells in other parts of Afghanistan, particularly Kabul, where Shahab al-Muhajir is based, along with its Deputy Salahuddin.

The Report further stated that, under Shahab al-Muhajir’s leadership and based on his expertise, Islamic State-Khorasan Province would continue to undertake terrorist attacks, predominantly in Kabul, provincial capitals and urban areas in the east of Afghanistan. Shahab al-Muhajir became the IS-KP chief in June 2020.

Thus, both the Taliban and IS-KP have intensified their activities in Kabul at a time when the withdrawal of international troops is in its final stages. According to current announcements, the US aims to complete its withdrawal by September 11, 2021.

Meanwhile, on June 11, 2021, worried that the Taliban will try to retake Kabul in the wake of the troop withdrawal, the Pentagon warned that it may bomb Taliban targets in such a situation.  US officials told The New York Times that strikes would be most likely if the fall of Kabul seemed imminent. It was less clear whether they would intervene to protect the country’s second largest city, Kandahar, while action to protect other areas seemed unlikely.

The security situation in Kabul is rapidly deteriorating and with no hopes of any positive outcome in any of the ongoing talks’ processes, Kabul is likely to see increasing violence in the days to come.

INDIA

PLFI: Diminishing Power
Kota Mallikarjuna Gupta
Research Assistant, Institute for Conflict Management

On June 7, 2021, five cadres of the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), a splinter group of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), were arrested from an under-construction house near the Biodiversity Park in the Namkum Police Station area of Ranchi City. Following information that the PLFI cadres were regularly holding meetings to plan some crime, Police launched a search operation. PLFI cadres opened fire and, after a brief encounter, five of them, including Kunwar Oraon aka Jainath, ‘area commander’ of the PLFI, and his associates Ravi Minj, Munna Oraon, Naresh Oraon and Amrit Kispotta, were arrested. Police also recovered five motor cycles, one country made pistol, five live bullets, seven mobile phones and Naxal [Left Wing Extremism (LWE)] literature from the encounter site.  

On May 18, 2021, a PLFI cadre, identified as Ram Bhengra, was arrested following an encounter between PLFI cadres and Security Forces (SFs) in the Digri Jhariatoli locality under the Rania Police Station in Khunti District. The encounter ensued following PLFI cadres opening fire on the SFs. SFs recovered two country-made weapons, two live bullets, five motorcycles and three mobile phones from the encounter site.

On May 7, 2021, Police arrested five PLFI cadres, identified as Dev Singh Munda, Golden Yadav, Suraj Mahto, Sahjad Ansari and Aslam Khan, in an operation in the Angara Police Station limits in Ranchi District. They were arrested when they were holding a meeting with their sympathizers to expand their base in the Jonha Musungu Pudi village. Police recovered three country-made pistols, cartridges and three mobile phones from their possession.

On May 1, 2021, SFs arrested six PLFI cadres, identified as Manka Shaluki aka Etwa Shaluki, Sanika Bodra, Sudarshan Soe, Shiva Kumar Bodra, Debra Hembram and Sanjay Bodra, during a search operation in the Tebo Police Station limits in West Singhbhum District. Police received specific information that Hari Singh Sandi Purti, ‘area commander’ of PLFI, with his cadres, was on the lookout for an opportunity to execute a major criminal incident. Though Hari Singh Sandi Purti and some members of his squad managed to escape during the operation, Police arrested six PLFI cadres. Police recovered one country-made carbine and 10 bullets, PLFI pamphlets and levy collection receipts from the arrested cadres.

According to partial data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), at least 21 PLFI cadres have been arrested since the beginning of the current year (data till June 13, 2021). During the corresponding period of 2020, seven PLFI cadres were arrested. A total of 29 PLFI cadres were arrested through 2020. Since July 2007, when PLFI was formed, at least 646 PLFI cadres have been arrested.

Though no PLFI cadre has been been killed in the current year, during the corresponding period in 2020, SFs killed five PLFI cadres. In the remaining period of 2020, SFs killed another four, bringing the total to nine, through 2020. Since the formation of PLFI in 2007, a total of 99 PLFI cadres have been killed.

The last PLFI-linked civilian killing was reported on September 4, 2020, when PLFI cadres shot dead a civilian, identified as Nungu Barjo (30), at Khanda village under Bandgaon Police Station limits in West Singhbhum District of Jharkhand. The last SF killing caried out by the PLFI took place on April 8, 2017, when a Sub-Inspector and a Policeman were killed in a gunfight with PLFI cadres in Simdega District.

Since its formation, PLFI has been found responsible for 111 civilian and seven SF fatalities.

PLFI has been on sustained decline in the recent past, but continues with its activities, as the recent incidents suggest. It also continues with its propaganda activities. In the intervening night of January 12-13, PLFI cadres pasted a poster in the heart of Lohardaga town warning ‘police informers’ and businessmen of ‘dire consequences’ if they passed on information about the group to the Police or refused to meet PLFI demands. The poster had slogans praising PLFI’s struggle against ‘capitalist forces.’ In the posters, PLFI urged the poor and labour class to unite against ‘oppressive forces,’ and also warned that industrialists would face PLFI’s wrath if they continued to exploit the poorer classes. Through the poster, PLFI also ‘asked’ the Police not to conduct fake encounters and keep away from targeting innocent villagers.

There is evidence that the PLFI leadership is looking for ‘new strategies’ to restore its strength. A June 9, 2021, report, revealed that the PLFI had prepared a ‘new system’ to spread panic in its operational areas. A squad of PLFI cadres led by ‘area commander’ Kunwar Oraon, would throw pamphlets at the homes of the businessmen, while a second squad led by ‘zonal commander’ Rajesh Gope aka Tilkeshwar Gope, would spread panic by firing and blasting explosives. Interestingly, however, as noted, before the ‘new system’ could be implemented, Police arrested ‘area commander’ Oraon on June 7.

Moreover, reports indicate that, weakened by the SFs’ regular anti-Naxal Operations, PLFI ‘supremo’ Dinesh Gope is trying to connect with unemployed youth in the border areas of Khunti and Simdega, tempting them with an offer of a salary of INR 15,000 a month and 25 per cent of the ‘levy’ (extortion money) share they collect. Gope is also trying to contact criminals and extremists who have come out of jail with offers to join his outfit. To strengthen PLFI, Gope is trying to re-establish a foundation of village-to-village front organizations. Further, reports indicate that PLFI has inducted many new boys in recent times, who are assigned to carry out recces for PLFI. The new recruits have been specially asked to keep an eye on land traders and builders. After a recce, the mobile number and all details are sent to one Awadhesh aka Rat, after which the latter calls the businessmen through WhatsApp and makes a demand for ‘levy’.

SAIR noted earlier that PLFI activities are primarily focused on extortion and the group is more of an organized crime gang than an ‘ideologically driven’ movement.

Meanwhile, according to a June 8, 2021, report, the Jharkhand Police has announced a reward of INR 2.5 million on PLFI ‘supremo’ Dinesh Gope. Apart from this, the Police has also announced a reward on his other associates. A reward of INR 100,000 has been placed on Tilkeshwar Gope aka Rajesh Gope and INR 200,000 each on ‘area commander’ Ajay Purti, Awadhesh Kumar Jaiswal aka Abodh Kumar Jaiswal aka Chuha aka Bihari, Shanichar Surin and Mangra Lugun. While releasing photos of each of these, the Police made an appeal to the common people to give information about them.

Despite having been considerably weakened, PLFI remains a concern, as its efforts to regain lost ground continue. The SF’s targeted operations against the outfit will, consequently, continue, till the elusive ‘chief’ Dinesh Gope and the group at large are completely neutralized.

AFGHANISTAN

'Continuous War' if no Afghan political settlement, warns US Special Envoy Zalmay Khalilzad: United States (US) special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad on June 7 said that in the present scenario two options remain for Afghanistan: a political solution to the conflict or continued war. Zalmay Khalilzad said that attempting a military solution will result in a continued war, while also acknowledging that the peace process in Doha has been slow and that both sides of the negotiations have not focused on the main issues. Tolo News, June 8, 2021.

United Nation report says that a significant part of the Al-Qaeda leadership resides in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border region: Twelfth report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team of United Nation disclosed that a significant part of the Al-Qaeda leadership resides in the Afghanistan and Pakistan border region, including the group's elusive leader Aiman al-Zawahiri, who is "probably alive but too frail to be featured in propaganda. The Hindu, June 8, 2021.

BANGLADESH

HeI announces 33-member central committee led by Mohammed Junaid Babunagari:The Hefazat-e-Islam (HeI) on June 7 announced a new 33-member central committee led by its Amir (Chief) Mohammed Junaid Babunagari. The committee excluded all the HeI leaders, including Mamunul Haque, who are now in jail after being arrested after the violence over the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Bangladesh in March 202l. The Daily Star, June 8, 2021.